The term “freedom” seems to be changing definition by those espousing what they call “progressive” thinking. We find this type of thinking in people who either want more power in government or who allow themselves to become dependent on the government for their day to day well being. In return, they must slowly give up their liberty, a pursuit of a better life, and eventually, their lives.

This new “progressive freedom” is defined as freedom from responsibility, freedom from risk and failure and the right to have the same things as people who work harder and produce more. It sounds great in the short term and it is as addictive as crack. I can see how voters and politicians would want to make promises putting the government in this position as the savior of the people, and people wanting to keep their hand outs. The problem is, if you don’t have a national commodity to sell instead of relying on the productivity of people, the system will implode. We saw that happen with the Soviet Union. The government, in the end, could not do it all. The government does not generate wealth. Individuals generate wealth and in the process, fund the government. Somehow, this concept is lost on these “progressive” types.

I view freedom as the right to live as individuals who have the ability to pursue better lives, to compete and achieve…to be charitable where they see fit…to be rewarded for their hard work…to be self reliant…to be able to make their own choices and be responsible for themselves…to enjoy the God given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

One of the best lessons I ever learned in the Navy was what the loss of freedom feels like. In training, I got a taste of it.

I found myself with a buddy in a remote forest being chased by a simulated enemy. In my mind however, the simulation became more and more realistic feeling. We had received training on how to survive in the field. Looking around; I saw small animals and plenty of vegetation that I could have probably survived on indefinitely. It would have meant work, and possibly hunger and general discomfort but we would remain free. It had snowed so the going was tough. We knew there were others being hunted too so the strategy for us was to climb higher and move faster than the others. We heard some of the other two man teams talking about just letting themselves be caught. After all, being caught meant our medical needs would be taken care of, we’d be fed, we’d be sheltered…all the needs would be met. The people trying to find and capture us kept yelling out for us to give up and join them, talking of all the things they would do for us.

Looking down at my bruised leg from a fall, being cold, hungry… it was tempting to turn ourselves in like the others for sure. My partner kept pushing me to climb higher and move even faster than I wanted too. It wasn’t fun, but we were free and the captains of our own destiny at that point. No, we decided together to press on. We completed our journey and ended up being the last guys picked up. If given the choice, we decided we would stay in the forest. We were proud of that but then, we got to feel what the loss of freedom really meant.

We lost the freedom of speech, the freedom of sight, the freedom of assembly, the freedom of religion, the freedom to move about as we wanted, and much more. We did receive life sustaining care, but like hamsters in a cage and at the whim of someone else’s choice, we merely existed. I can’t describe the depth and darkness of that experience. I have heard accounts of battered wives that describe feeling in a similar way. They are dependent, but feel like they have to endure to survive with no way out. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for something like this to happen in real life as it did to many prisoners of war and concentration camp survivors. It was then that I had a much better understanding of what my dad had talked about when he survived in his Japanese concentration camp and then had to deal with a socialist government later on. Even in that setting, we practiced keeping our minds alive in the hope that soon we’d be set free or escape back to the woods.

As with all good schools, it was not easy or that much fun at the time, but I am so grateful for the experience because it really enlightened me to what freedom and the loss of it tasted like. It tasted like death. That’s the only way I can describe it.

To me, freedom really was like the air that I breathe. I took it for granted until it was gone. I saw others just give it up without a fight in the hopes of being taken care of by an unfeeling bureaucracy. They got their wish…and more “training” because of it. All I have to say is, I hope they are more careful about what they wish for in the future. I’m glad that I had the sense to fight the urge to just give up, but really didn’t understand the depths of it until freedom was finally gone. And like air not making it to your lungs when someone is choking you, even the pacifists among us will fight for it. But then, it may be too late…or too far down the slope of addiction.

I seek to resist the loss of our freedom. In our country’s case, it isn’t an overnight loss of everything. It is a gradual and progressive loss, one little bit at a time. One sector of the economy after another, one choice after another. Like a slow cancer that may take years to have an effect, but eventually, have an effect it will.

I believe Americans still have the character, ingenuity and the will-power to propel the country and the economy forward using freedom and liberty as the environment in which to thrive. We are still a country of rugged individualists, it’s our culture and I’m proud of that. We must continue our history of success. We need to make our country and our state a place where people want to come and be rewarded for hard, honest work. We need to allow competition to spur innovation and growth and to also weed out ideas that are not so great. There is much we can do in terms of tort reform, introducing competition back into places like education, or rethinking our whole tax scheme. We need to get the government out of the market place to the greatest extent possible. The government is there for a reason, but it isn’t to generate wealth. And if people are punished when they create wealth, even the government will eventually fail just like the Soviet Union did.

To me, progressive, liberal, moderate, whatever you want to call it type thinking amounts to getting as many people to be dependent on the government as possible to ensure solid voter blocks. And like addicted crack addicts, we seem to be taking to it. The promises of socialism are tempting. The effect will be the constant erosion of your freedom until one day; you wake up, and can’t breathe. Slavery is not a thing of the past, it is here now, and it is being perpetrated in disguise as a benevolent welfare program.

We must resist.